Mayday!
by Trn736
Summary: The odds of being involved in a plane crash are about 1 in 10 million – the odds of dying even less… Can Stan and Kyle beat the odds?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **All places and characters referenced to the television show _**South Park**_ are the property of Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

"Please, mom!" Kyle begged.

"You're sure you talked to him and you're sure he said it would be alright?" Sheila sighed.

"Yes! Yes I did! He said it would be okay!" Kyle nearly yelled.

"Alright, Kyle… I suppose if it's okay with your father I'm okay with it… It's better than letting money go to waste," she turned to Gerald.

Kyle turned to his father in anticipation.

"I don't see a problem with it."

"Thank you!" He hugged both of them.

"Well, it's okay with us but we'll have to talk to his parents if he wants to go… Have you even talked to S-," she was interrupted by Kyle yelling as he ran out the door, "I'll be back soon!"

Kyle sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him through cool October, late afternoon air.

_Knock, Knock, Knock_

Sharon promptly answered the door.

"Hi, Mrs. Marsh," Kyle panted before she said a word, "Can I talk to Stan?"

"Sure, honey. He should be up in his room."

"Thanks!" Kyle rushed upstairs and barged into Stan's room.

"Stan! Stan!" He spoke loudly.

"Huh? What?" He quickly raised his head from its resting place in his social studies book, "What's wrong?!" He yelled, alarmed.

"You'll never guess what!" Kyle walked up to him.

"I don't have to do this social studies homework?" He yawned.

"No! It's better!"

Stan shifted around and looked at his best friend questioningly.

"You know how I told you Ike and I were going to go see my older cousin that lives in California?" Kyle began.

"Yeah… You're going to leave me here alone for almost an entire week!" Stan responded, sadly.

"Something came up that Ike _has _to be here for, he can't go anymore."

"So does that mean you're staying?" He asked, hopefully.

"It's better… The plane ticket is non-refundable at this point; it's next week."

"How is that better? Doesn't that mean your parents just lost money?" Stan was confused.

"It's better because, if you want to and your parents let you; you can use it and come with me! I already asked my cousin and my parents and they both said it was okay!"

"Wow! Really?!" Stan was ecstatic.

"Yeah, dude!" He beamed, "So… Do you want to come with me to California for a week?"

"What kind of a question is that?! Of course I do! That sounds awesome! I'll ask my parents right now!" He hopped out of his chair and ran downstairs.

"Mom! Mom!" Stan ran into the living room were both of his parents were seated.

"Yes, Stanley?" Sharon turned down the volume of the television.

"Mom! You know how I told you Kyle was going to see his cousin in California next week?"

"Yeah…"

"Well his brother can't go anymore and they can't get their money back for the now so Kyle asked me if I wanted to go with him!"

"I asked both my cousin and my parents already and everyone is okay with it!" Kyle interjected.

"Can I go with him, please…?"

"Isn't this a little short notice, Stan?" Sharon questioned.

"It's not for – like – a few days still! I'll pack myself and everything! Please!"

"The two of you would be traveling alone?" Randy asked, concerned.

"My mom and dad already had this planed for Ike and I, they can be with us pretty much the whole time until we get on the plane, then my cousin will be waiting for us right when we got off," Kyle explained.

"We're responsible kids, please!" Stan begged.

Sharon sighed, "I'll give Sheila a call, just go back to your room and calm down; I'll call you back down after I talk to her."

"Okay!" Stan agreed and ran back up to his room, Kyle followed.

"I hope your mom says you can go with me! We don't even have school on the days we'll be gone; it's over break."

"Me too!" Stan exclaimed.

The two sat in silence for the next few minutes anxiously awaiting a decision.

"What day did you say _we're_ leaving?" Stan asked.

Kyle smiled, "The plane leaves Wednesday morning."

"Wednesday? That's only four days away!"

"Yeah! And we get back on Tuesday afternoon, just in time for school on that Wednesday."

"Stanley!" Sharon called from the kitchen, "Come back down here."

Stan and Kyle hurried down the steps and into the kitchen.

"I talked to Sheila…"

"Yeah?!" Stan's tone beseeched her for an answer.

"And I suppose it would be alright if you wanted to go with Kyle."

"Thank you!" He hugged her.

"Awesome!" Kyle looked just as happy as Stan.

"Gerald said he would call the airline and switch the ticket info tomorrow," Sharon continued, "And Shelia said to get back home, Kyle; dinner is getting cold."

"Alright," Kyle ran to the door, "Thanks Mrs. Marsh; I'll talk to you tomorrow, Stan!"

* * *

"Do you have all of your stuff packed?" Kyle asked as the two were headed home from school the following Tuesday.

"I got everything out just not in a suitcase yet."

"We leave tomorrow! You better get on that! We'll be around to pick you up around six tomorrow morning so we can get to Denver in time to go through security and whatnot."

"I know…," interestingly, Stan's tone was less than enthusiastic.

"What's wrong, dude? You don't sound too happy?"

"It's nothing!" He quickly dismissed.

"Come on, Stan… You're leaving to go to California for a whole week with your super best friend in the morning and you sound like you have to get up to go to the dentist or something… What's up?"

Stan stopped, annoyed Kyle could read him so well.

"Uh… Well… It's kinda embarrassing, I guess…"

"Stan, it's okay… I won't tell anyone, we're best super best friends."

Stan sighed, "I'm just… I'm just kinda nervous about flying…"

Kyle could see how uncomfortable the thought made him.

"We've flown before… In those little prop planes, remember?"

"I remember how sick I felt and how I just wanted to be on the ground… I don't like being thousands of feet in the air…" Stan looked away.

"Dude, it's okay to be scared of something; you don't need to be embarrassed about that," he put his hand on Stan's shoulder, "But this won't be bad, we'll be flying on a big jet. Those things are a lot smoother than tiny planes."

"They fly a lot higher too! And just make bigger explosions when they hit the ground," he muttered.

"So that's what this is about!" Kyle laughed.

Stan looked at him crossly.

"Dude, the chance a plane crashes is so abysmally small… You're infinitely more likely to be in a car crash than that, and you haven't even been in one of those."

"Really?" Stan sounded skeptical.

"Yeah! Trust me, that's the last thing we need to be worried about when flying… You should be more worried about the TSA taking the $6 bottle of water you just bought but didn't have time to drink before they let you go through security!"

Stan chuckled, semi-relieved as they resumed their walk.

"Just don't be surprised if you have to calm me down again in the morning…," he mumbled.

The duo reached Kyle's house first.

"Alright, Stan; remember to be ready by six! I'll see you in the morning!"

"Okay!" Stan responded as Kyle walked into his house.

* * *

"Stanley!" They're here," Sharon called into the living room.

Stan grabbed his bags eagerly and approached the door.

"Remember to be a good boy and have fun, Stanley."

"I will…"

Sharon bent down and hugged her son, "We'll miss you! Remember to call me when you get there!"

"Okay, mom," Stan returned the embrace and walked out the door toward the Broflovski car.

"Love you!" She called from the door.

"You too!" Stan yelled back as he climbed into the rear seat with Kyle.

"Hey, dude - Hey, Mrs. and Mr. Broflovski," Stan greeted, "Thanks for going through all this trouble and letting me go with Kyle."

"It's no problem, Stanley. We already had the ticket so it's better that someone gets to use it rather than it going to waste," Shelia replied.

"We'll be at DIA in about an hour," Gerald said as the vehicle departed.

Stan nodded and settled back in his seat.

"I know it's early, Stan but geez! You look really tired." Kyle commented.

"Dude, I've been up since like four waiting for you," he chuckled.

"Wow!"

"Yeah… So just wake me up when we get there, kay?" Stan rested his head against the window and shut his eyes.

"Alright."

A little over an hour later, Kyle gently shook his friend.

"Stan. We're here."

The dark haired boy sat up and rubbed his eyes through a yawn.

Sheila opened up the rear car door, "Gerald already checked you two in; we just need to give them your bags."

Stan and Kyle got out the car, grabbed their bags, and approached Gerald.

Shortly thereafter the two had their tickets and entered the main building.

"Your plane leaves in about 90 minutes, we need to hurry up and get in line for security," Sheila stated as the group approached the heart of the building.

"Whoa, dude! This place is awesome!" Kyle exclaimed, scanning the spiked ceiling above and the water fountain below.

"No kidding!"

"Let's go!" Sheila herded them down to the security line.

"When it's your turn the security guy will wave you over, when he does you need to show him your boarding pass," Gerald handed both boys their ticket, "Then they'll have you take off your shoes and take anything you have out of your pockets and put it in this little tray on a conveyor belt. You'll walk through a metal detector and your stuff will be waiting on the other side. That's it! We get to go with you since you're kids flying alone"

"Why do we have to walk through a metal detector?" Stan questioned.

"Because they need to make sure we don't have any weapons on us or something to make sure we're not terrorists!" Kyle replied.

"We're 10, dude. Are they really recruiting that young?" Stan said, dully.

Kyle just laughed.

About 60 painful minutes later, everyone had successfully made it through security.

The group quickly transitioned concourses and found the correct gate.

"Gate A34. Right here!" Stan pointed to the waiting area.

Soon thereafter a voice came over the local intercom.

"Now boarding flight 3278 with service to Sacramento, California out of gate A34."

"That's us!" Kyle hopped to his feet.

"Okay, boys; be good and have fun!" She lightly hugged both of them.

"We will!" Stan and Kyle replied in unison as they lined up to board the plane.


	2. Chapter 2

"You must be Kyle Broflovski and Stanley Marsh," the airline worker commented as the boys handed him their tickets. "Since you boys are flying alone, one of the stewardesses on the plane is going to keep an eye on you; she should be waiting just as you board," he scanned their tickets and pointed them down the jetway.

"Keep an eye on us?" Kyle whispered, "He makes it sound like we're going to be the out-of-control kids without parents!"

"They probably get really nervous when kids travel alone – thinking they'll all cause trouble," Stan shrugged.

"We're 10, dude; it's not like we're going to be screaming and trying to run around and stuff! We're mature!"

Stan chuckled, "Well, some of us are mature."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kyle looked at him crossly.

"Nothing…" Stan smiled.

Kyle slugged him hard.

"Ouch!" He yelped, massaging his arm, "See what I mean?!"

"You asked for it!"

Their laughing subsided as it became their turn to enter the plane – a woman waved them off to the side.

"Kyle Broflovski and Stanley Marsh?"

"Yeah," the boys answered in unison.

"I'll be watching you during the flight; if you need anything, just ask me," she smiled as they nodded, "I'll take you to your seats!"

She began to lead them down the narrow aisle of the long jet.

Kyle looked down at his ticket.

"Great…," he huffed.

"What?" Stan looked at him questioningly.

"We're almost at the very back of the plane!"

"What's wrong with that?! It's statistically the safest place on the airplane!" Stan exclaimed.

"It's going to take us forever to get out of here when we land!" Kyle ignored his friend's paranoid allusion.

"Here you boys are," she stopped at the second-to-last row near the back of the aircraft. "It looks like Kyle is in seat B and Stan seat A; I'll be back to check on you boys after we take off," she hurried off to attend to other business.

Kyle reluctantly took his middle seat next to some other random guy in the row.

"Woah! This is cool!" Stan sat down and inspected this little television screen built into the seat in front of him.

"Stan," Kyle leaned over and whispered to him, "You should switch me seats!"

"We can't do that!" Stan replied stalwartly, "My ticket says to sit here!"

"It doesn't matter as long as we keep to these two seats!" Kyle insisted.

"I don't want to get in trouble; I'm staying here!" Stan refused to move.

"See if I ever invite you to come with me on a trip again…," Kyle pouted.

About a half hour later, the plane pushed back from the gate and began to move down the tarmac.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I could direct your attention to the screens in front of you for a quick safety demonstration we should be in the air shortly…," an attendant reported.

"Geez, can't this just be over so we can watch something entertaining…," Kyle complained, not realizing how intently Stan was fixated on the screen.

"Pay attention to this, Kyle!" He snapped, obviously on edge.

"Dude, Stan; it's gonna be alright… We'll be fine," Kyle reassured.

By the time the video had ended and the aircraft was stopped on the far-side of the runway waiting for clearance to take off, Stan was visibly shaking.

"Calm down, dude… Seriously, we'll be okay," he patted him on the back.

"Flight attendants, prepare for takeoff…"

As the jet engines roared and the plane accelerated down the runway, Stan covered Kyle's hand on his armrest; he gripped it tightly.

Moments later, they were airborne.

"See? We're okay," Kyle gave a light laugh as the plane listed into a turn over the airport.

"See, Stan?" He turned to look at his friend.

"Are you going to be alright, Stan? You don't look too good…," Stan's face was paling.

"I think I might be sick, dude…," he said forcefully.

"Just take a deep breath. It's okay…," he soothed.

Stan inhaled and exhaled slowly a few times and the color returned to his face.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah…," Stan sighed.

"So… Are you going to let go of my hand then?" Kyle teased.

"Oh! Uh… Sorry," his face turned red as he quickly pulled back his hand.

"It's okay," Kyle smiled.

The two sat in silence for the better part of the next ten minutes or so.

Stan yawned.

"Man… I'm still tired; I'm gonna close my eyes for a bit, kay? And try to think about something else…"

"Alright," Kyle could tell he was still pretty uncomfortable.

Kyle quietly watched the screen in front of him.

After a while, his eyes began to get heavy.

He yawned and shifted in his seat and was just about ready to close his eyes when he felt something lightly bump into him.

Stan's head had slipped from the chair onto Kyle's shoulder, he was obviously asleep.

Kyle leaned his head on Stan's and dozed off.

* * *

The dinging of the intercom stirred both boys some time later.

They lifted their heads up and wiped their eyes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I have turned on the fasten seatbelt sign at this time... Due to an unusually high thunderhead a few kilometers out, some turbulence is going to be expected."

Kyle and Stan looked at each other nervously as they pulled their seatbelts tight.

The whole cabin darkened as the plane entered the black cloud, illuminated only sporadically by flashes of lightening.

"Don't worry it's just a –," the plane jumped violently from turbulence, "-a thunderstorm…," Kyle could tell his voice was a little shaky.

The plane jarred again, and again, and again in quick succession; each time more violent than the last.

The passengers in the cabin were clamoring and gasping with each jolt.

"Kyle…," Stan whined as hail and high winds battered the fuselage.

They hugged each other tightly.

After a few seconds passed without another jolt, everyone thought they had passed through it.

Kyle looked out the small circular window just in time to see a blinding white flash that seemingly initiated the most violent shaking yet.

The nose of the plane angled down through the shaking and began to lose altitude a heart-stopping rate.

People screamed as the aircraft plummeted toward the ground.

The overhead bins snapped open under the extreme stress of the dive and carryon luggage shot around the cabin as dangerous projectiles.

Many seeming eternities later, the dive partially steadied out into an extreme right list as the plane broke free of the thunderhead.

Sunlight filled the cabin revealing luggage strewn about the many people moaning in pain, crying, or hugging loved ones.

"Is everyone okay?!" One of the shaken flight attendants yelled through the plane; responses were mixed.

Kyle looked out the small window closest to him and was terrified by what he saw: the right wing of the aircraft was badly damaged. Sheets of metal were bent up and dented, rivets were missing, and a portion of the aileron was spewing hydraulic fluid.

"Oh my God, Stan…," Kyle's voice was laced with fear.

"Kyle…," Stan choked on tears, unable to finish his sentence as the plane listed almost completely onto its' right side and resumed the deadly dive.

The ground was approaching fast.

"I don't want to die, Kyle!" Stan sobbed.

"We're not going to die!" Kyle cried out, trying to convince himself as they held each other tighter.

Somehow, the plane managed to steady again only a few hundred feet from the ground.

Stan pulled away from Kyle as if survival mode had just kicked into overdrive.

"Kyle!" He yelled through the commotion, "This is our chance!"

"What do mean?!" He looked as his super best friend.

"We have to do this now! Do what the safety video said!" He assumed a sort of improvised brace position; Kyle glanced out the window, seeing treetops only a few feet below before quickly following his lead.

Both boys held their breath in anticipation of what they were both sure would be the end of their lives.

The right wing skimmed the treetops before it clipped a large branch and sheared it in half forcing the wounded aircraft sickening, high-speed spin.

Stan and Kyle made eye contact for one, last brief moment before everything went black as the aircraft smashed into ground and broke apart.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Stan…"_

"…"

"_Get up, Stan!" Kyle playfully rolled his super best friend over in his sleeping bag._

_Stan cracked his eyes open and weakly swatted Kyle's arms away, "We stayed up almost all night playing videogames," he yawned. "Let me sleep a little longer."_

_He closed his heavy eyes and readjusted his pillow._

"_Come on, Stan! Don't be a pussy! We still have six levels to beat before school tomorrow!"_

_Kyle shook his friend, "Come on, Stan! Don't go back to sleep…"_

* * *

"Stan… Please wake up…," Kyle's voice quivered as he shook him desperately.

This shaking snapped Stan out of his dream world.

"Ugh…," he moaned in pain as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Stan!" Kyle sounded ecstatic.

As his blurred vision focused and his other senses began to come back to him, Stan observed the gutted remains of the aircraft strewn about over hundreds of meters in front of him through the severed – yet still mostly intact – tail portion of the aircraft. Chunks of debris scattered as far as he could see, lining the jagged pathway multiple sections of the fuselage carved through the trees; a still-spooling engine; aircraft seats- some thrown about, others still bolted to segments of the floorboard; luggage and clothing dispersed along the scar; fire; the bodies of men, women, and children; moans of pain, screams of agony, and cries for help; the smell of hydraulic fluid, aircraft fuel, and burning bodies…

"Kyle…?" He tilted his head to the other boy, cringing at the taste of blood in his mouth.

Kyle stood beside him trying to unlatch Stan's safety belt; the boy was bruised and dirty with a bloody gash on his forehead.

"Stan, you need to help me! We have to get out of here! This whole thing is going to burst into flames!" Kyle yelled.

Stan acknowledged his friend and looked down at his lap to try to undo the stuck seatbelt.

As both boys tugged on the binding in a frantic attempt to break it, Stan caught a glimpse of his tattered brown jacket, it and his entire right side was soaked in blood – an obvious detail he missed in the heat of the moment. Suddenly realizing the extent of his injuries, the pain hit him like a truck; his grip loosened as he became incredibly light headed.

The belt finally gave way and he could feel himself being pulled to his feet.

Kyle slung Stan's arm over his shoulder and began to move to the opening in the fuselage.

"Come on, Stan! Please!" Kyle huffed, nearly carrying him as dead-weight.

Stan struggled to get a steady footing, leaning hard on Kyle.

The two navigated through the destroyed remains of the tail portion of the aircraft emerging into the scar.

"We need to get further away!" Kyle winced.

They moved as fast as they could toward the edge of the tree line.

Almost instantaneously after clearing the immediate wreckage, fire ignited a pool of nearby jet fuel. The fire quickly engulfed the only semi-intact portion of the aircraft and a nearby portion of wing in flames, exploding violently moments later.

The powerful shockwave knocked both boys off their feet.

After a few minutes of lying on face-first into ground, Stan mustered up a great deal of his remaining strength and pushed himself out of the mud and onto his back.

Kyle was sitting up a few meters in front of him, clutching his right leg and whimpering in pain.

"Kyle…? Are you okay…?" His voice was strained.

"Probably still better than you…," Kyle responded through gritted teeth, pushing through the intense pain as he crawled over to Stan.

Through hazy vision, Stan could make out Kyle's pant leg as he came closer. It was torn and soaked in blood. The tear almost fully exposed a sickeningly long, deep cut down the side of his right leg that was bleeding profusely – probably as a result of shrapnel from the explosion.

"Kyle…?" Stan's voice was laced with worry as Kyle crawled next to him and collapsed to his back.

After a brief silence, Stan pushed on Kyle's shoulder, "You're bleeding pretty bad… We need to stop that bleeding…"

Kyle struggled into a sitting position, "You are too, dude…"

It took Kyle saying this to make Stan realize he was almost literally lying in a pool of his own blood.

At this rate, both boys would bleed to death in a matter of minutes.

"Well, it's not like we have bandages from a first aid kit conveniently sitting around," Kyle responded cynically, feeling himself becoming lightheaded.

"No…," Stan thought for a moment, "But there are a lot of clothes… We could use them as some sort of bandage?"

Kyle looked around, hesitant to use the clothing of more-than-likely-deceased passengers as dressings for their wounds.

"If we don't do something fast we're- we're going to die, Kyle," Stan moved his hands to put pressure on his side.

Kyle nodded, fully aware this was the case.

He crawled over to grab some stray shirts near them and crawled back to Stan.

"This will be easier to do if I can sit up against something… Let's try to move to the trees…," Kyle grabbed Stan's shirt with one hand to help pull him across the ground.

The two struggled crawling but eventually made it to the tree, they both propped their backs against the same tree side-by-side.

"Okay…," Kyle began tearing the clothing into strips and using them first to dress his wound and then Stan's.

"Ouch!" Stan yelped in pain as Kyle tugged the makeshift bandage tight.

"Sorry… It needs to be tight to stop the bleeding…"

They sat in silence for many minutes, trying to understand all that had transpired in the previous half hour or so.

As the sun began to set, still-burning fires illuminated the debris field that lay before them.

Both boys could feel themselves getting weaker; it became difficult to stay awake.

"I'm so tired…," Stan shivered as he cuddled up to Kyle for warmth; Kyle was also shivering – a combination of dusk temperature, the wet ground, and blood loss to blame.

This first line of speech in many minutes jarred Kyle from his dozing state, "No!" He spoke loudly, "We can't go to sleep! We need to keep each other awake…"

"Why…?"

"Because if we go to sleep now, we might never wake up!" Kyle was almost crying as he shook Stan weakly.

"Kyle…?" Tears welled in his eyes.

"Yeah, Stan…?"

"You remember the time… In second grade when we were playing with remote controlled cars?"

"I remember Shelly broke yours…," Kyle reminisced.

"And how you felt so bad for me you gave me the one you got for your birthday?"

"And then you felt so bad for me giving it to you, you used your entire allowance that month to buy me the same one back?" Kyle interjected.

"And then not a week later we drove them into Stark's Pond, like idiots thinking they would turn into boats or something and they both broke?"

"Yeah…," Kyle laughed lightly, "Good times…"

Stan turned to Kyle, "You're the best friend anyone could ever ask for, dude… I just want you to know… I love you like family… You're practically my brother…"

"Stan… Don't do this… Please!" He hugged his buddy tight.

"Kyle…," Stan spoke solemnly, "Do Jewish people and Christian people go to the same heaven…?"

Kyle had no words to answer, he merely responded with an innocent, "Why…?" though he knew full-well.

"Because…," Kyle could see tears streaming down Stan's face, "Because I want to know if I'm going to see my best friend again…"

"Stan…," Kyle choked on his words, "You're not going to die!"

"Just tell me, Kyle. Please…," Kyle sensed he was almost distraught over this.

"Yeah… Of course, dude…," He was full-fledged crying by this point.

"Good...," Stan rested his head on Kyle's shoulder, as his field of vision was enveloped by a blinding white light.


	4. Chapter 4

Sharon and Randy sat in their living room watching the evening news shortly after dinner.

"We are receiving reports of breaking news…," The reporter's look was grim, "CNN can confirm that around 5PM pacific time, a Boeing 737-800 out of Denver, Colorado bound for Sacramento, California crashed about 150 miles east of its destination…"

Both parents froze with fear as the reporter continued, "We have no further information in regard to causality toll or the cause of the accident other than reports that rescuers were mobilizing to the remote crash site. CNN will stay with this story and bring you updated information as soon as it becomes available."

"Oh my God!" Sharon was on the verge of hysteria.

"Take it easy, Sharon!" Randy attempted to reassure her through his fear, "Maybe it's not the same plane! Denver is a big airport! They have more than one flight to the same place in a day!"

"I need to call Sheila!" Sharon rushed to the phone.

"Sheila!" She yelled frantically, "Did you see the news?!"

"Yes! We just saw it! Gerald is on the phone with the airline company trying to get information right now! Oh my God…," She was distraught.

"We'll be right over!" Sharon slammed down the phone and nearly sprinted to the car, Randy close behind.

"I'm just trying to get a person rather than this damn automated machine!" Gerald screamed as the Sharon and Randy rushed in.

"Have you found anything out?!" Sharon wailed as she embraced the mother of her son's best friend.

"No we have just –," She was cut off by Gerald, "I got somebody!"

"Hi, yes. I'm calling in regard to flight 3278 from Denver to Sacramento today… We saw news of a plane crash and we need to know if our sons made it there safely…," he said desperately.

The group waited apprehensively.

Gerald's face paled as he listened to the airline worker, "Oh my God…"

Tears welled in his eyes, "How ba -… Is there any - … What are we supposed to do?! Our sons were on that plane!" He yelled, dropping the phone shortly thereafter.

He turned to face the despaired group, "He said… He said their plane was the one that went down… He couldn't give me much information but -," he choked, "but he said the chance for survivors is slim… There's nothing we can do except wait for them to call us back…"

Horrifyingly aware of the implications of this situation, the group was overwhelmed with grief.

* * *

Kyle tiredly squinted his eyes in response to the bright spotlight shined in his face.

"Over here! We have two kids over here!" A rescue worker rushed to the boys.

"Hey, champ," he kneeled next to Kyle, assessing the need for triage, "Are you still with me?"

The seriously injured boy nodded weakly.

"Alright! Just try to stay awake for me; we're going to get you out of here!"

He moved next to Stan, the severely injured boy was unresponsive.

The medic felt for a pulse.

"I have a code blue over here!" He screamed waving his arms, immediately beginning chest compressions, "I need fluids and epinephrine, right now!"

"Stan… Please…," Kyle managed to whisper before succumbing to the enveloping darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

_Stan's eyes snapped open and immediately darted from one side of the room to the other, as if he had just awoken form a nightmare. _

_All white. Four white walls, a white tile floor, and a white ceiling – the most brilliant white he had ever seen._

_He was lying in bed._

_Hospital…_

_He quickly sat up, in an obvious panic._

"_Where's Kyle?!" He nearly screamed at his mother sitting in the chair close to his bed._

"_Oh, honey…," She stood up and gently stroked her son's arm._

"_Where's Kyle?!" He reiterated._

"_Everything is going to be alright, Stanley," she soothed._

"_God dammit! Where is Kyle?! What happened?!" He demanded an answer._

"_Oh, sweetie… Kyle… He didn't make it…"_

_Stan's whole body went numb and his mind went blank._

An abrupt force suddenly cleared the dazzling white room and replaced it with a darkening image of the crash site.

"Stan… Please…"

* * *

The low volume of a television show alerted the unconscious boy; he slowly opened his heavy eyelids.

As his vision focused, he listed his head to the right and saw another boy sitting up in an adjacent bed with a remote in his hand.

"Kyle!" Stan excitedly twisted his whole body toward him, yelping in pain.

"Stan!" Kyle almost jumped out of bed. "Take it easy dude! Don't pop your stitches!"

"Stitches…?" Stan questioned as if he had just realized he was lying in a hospital bed severely injured – a mental lapse as the result of the strong painkillers and antibiotics coursing through his veins.

He took a minute to survey himself: his forehead was wrapped in bandages, pulse oximeters and blood pressure monitors adorned some of his fingers, two I.V. needles pierced his skin just above his right wrist one obviously blood, the other medicine, his abdomen was dressed in a thick bandage.

He turned to the other boy: pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitors, two I.V. needles also, Kyle's leg was thickly bandaged and propped up on a pillow.

Stan could feel himself getting sick in the presence of the hospital, pain, and medication.

"Stan, you don't look so well… Do you need a nurse?" Kyle asked, semi-alarmed.

"Kyle," Stan painfully exhaled, repressing the urge to vomit, "Where are we…?"

"We're in a hospital somewhere in California, I don't remember exactly where though."

"I'm so glad you're okay," Stan took another deep breath.

"You're in worse shape than me, dude… After what you said… I didn't think you were going to make it," Kyle avoided eye contact with his friend, "I don't know what I would have done…"

"Ditto…"

"You saved our lives on that plane…"

"How…?" Stan inquired.

"You knew what to do in that situation… We're the only two that made it…"

"The only two…?" Stan repeated solemnly.

Kyle nodded.

The two sat in silence for a few moments coming to grips with their own mortality.

"So," Kyle began, "I – I wasn't really in the T.V. mood but I turned it on in hopes of maybe finding Terrance and Phillip or something to help wake you up."

Stan looked up at the television, "But instead I get to wake up to Bill O'Rielly?"

Kyle looked up at the television also, not realizing what channel he had stopped on.

"I was looking for cartoons; I swear I don't watch Bill O'Rielly!"

Both boys chuckled lightly, "Who better to bring me back from the edge of death?"

"Kyle, your parents are here to-," the nurse walked into the room, "Stanley! You're awake!"

She walked over to him and checked his vital monitors.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not great… But a little better than before."

"Well, both of your parents just got here and they really want to see you, are you two up for some visitors?"

"Yeah," They said in unison.

The nurse walked out and the frantic group of parents stormed in moments later.

"Stanley! Kyle!" The sets of parents ran to their son's side.

"My poor baby!" Sharon cooed, sitting next to Stan.

"How are you two feeling?" Sheila asked.

"Alright." "Okay," Stan and Kyle answered.

"What a horrible thing to have to go through!" Gerald exasperated. "We left as soon as we got the call that you boys had survived – last night," he continued.

"Thank God you're both okay!" Sharon hugged both boys.

"Mom…?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"How did you guys get here so fast?" Stan and Kyle looked at each other wearily.

"We hopped a plane from Denver as soon as we could," Randy responded.

Both boys shivered.

"Kyle, just so you know, the only way I'm traveling anywhere from now on is via ground transportation… No matter how many times you tell me how safe planes are."

"I think that's fair, Stan… Split bus tickets back to South Park?"

"Deal!"


End file.
